Wild try to halt slide vs. Blue Jackets
Hockey Betting Lines
02/11/2012 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Wild will try to snap a three-game losing streak tonight when the lowly Columbus Blue Jackets come to town for a battle at Xcel Energy Center.
The Wild have gone 0-2-1 in their last three games after winning three out of four prior to the skid. Minnesota is tied with Calgary for the 11th seed in the West and is two points behind Phoenix for the conference's eighth and final postseason berth.
Columbus, meanwhile, is dead last in the NHL with just 36 points on the year. The Blue Jackets had won two in a row before losing Thursday in Dallas for their seventh setback in nine games.
At an earlier point in the season, Minnesota was considered a pleasant surprise, but the Wild have squandered away a good start with a 5-14-5 record in their last 24 games. Head coach Mike Yeo sounded off about his team's struggles over the past few months following his club's 5-2 setback Thursday against the visiting Vancouver Canucks.
"We flat out stink the last two months," Yeo said. "We come in and don't have a good enough effort from too many guys and that's concerning. I'm concerned about the fact that we come into games and we don't have enough guys that should have absolute desperation in their game."
Minnesota did score just 13 seconds into the game against the Canucks, but Vancouver held a 2-1 edge by the end of the first period and would build that lead to 4-1 by midway through the third period.
Dany Heatley and Devin Setoguchi scored for Minnesota and Niklas Backstrom gave up four goals on 19 shots. One good sign for the Wild was the return of captain Mikko Koivu, who had missed the previous eight games with a left shoulder injury. Koivu was a plus-1 in nearly 23 minutes of ice time on Thursday.
The loss to the Canucks was a bad way to start a four-game homestand for the Wild, who are 13-8-3 at home this year compared to a 12-13-5 record on the road.
Columbus was trying for its first three-game win streak of the season against Dallas on Thursday, but dropped a 4-2 decision to the visiting Stars. Dallas led the game by a 3-0 score in the second period before the Blue Jackets cut the deficit to 3-2 by the end of 40 minutes. Jamie Benn's second goal of the game -- an empty-netter in the final second -- sealed the win for Dallas.
Curtis Sanford was roughed up early for Columbus, but he held the Stars scoreless after the early minutes of the second period, stopping 31-of-34 shots overall. Vinny Prospal and Rick Nash scored for the Blue Jackets, who were trying to win three straight for the first time since last February.
"I liked the way we battled back," said Blue Jackets interim head coach Todd Richards. "The problem was we weren't ready from the start."
Columbus ended a seven-game road skid with an overtime win in Anaheim on Feb. 3, but the Jackets are still just 6-19-3 as the guest this season.
The Wild have recorded a pair of 4-2 victories over Columbus this year, winning one at home and one on the road. The Blue Jackets have taken four of seven overall in this series, but Minnesota has claimed five of the last seven encounters in St. Paul.
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NFL Football Betting : Odds on NFL Division to Win the Super Bowl
The AFC South and the NFC East are the favorite divisions to have the next Super Bowl champ among them in the NFL betting odds. But more down to the point, these football odds are in favor of the Indianapolis Colts, by far the strongest team in the AFC South, and the Dallas Cowboys of the NFC East.
Most sports fans would agree that these two teams top the list to win it all before the season even begins. In the BetUS Sportsbook football futures, the Colts are +800 in the odds to win the Super Bowl, while the Cowboys are sitting at +1000 and the Super Bowl XLIV champions New Orleans Saints at +900. In the AFC South, the Colts won the division for five straight years after the 2002 realignment, before the Tennessee Titans won it in 2008. But the Colts came back strong in 2009 to win the division again en route to the Super Bowl. The Cowboys are the favorite to win the NFC East, as well as to advance far into the post season. The Cowboys won the division last season before their horrendous loss in the NFC Divisional playoff to Brett Favre and the Minnesota Vikings. But the ‘Boys will take that loss humbly and be ready for the playoffs this time around.
The NFC South is also very strong, at +600 in the NFL futures, considering that it is home to the defending Super Bowl champions. However, some predictions have the Atlanta Falcons with possibilities of claiming the divisional title this season in place of the Saints, as no team has won back-to-back division championships since the division realignment took place. Let’s not overlook the AFC North at +500. As TO goes to Cincinnati to join Chad OchoCinco and Adam “Pac-Man” Jones, this team looks to claim the division title again. And it is likely they will do so. The Bengals lost in the AFC Wild Card spot in a hard-fought battle against the New York Jets last season. Lest not forget the Pittsburgh Steelers, the XLII Super Bowl Champions… All these teams present interesting odds and matchups for the upcoming season, but the safest and surest bet seems to be with the Colts in the AFC South and the Cowboys in the NFC East. Play this weekly NFL Football Contestto see if you can win.
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